Writer

I love writing, and I also love to write ABOUT writing, classic female authors, and whatever else might be on my mind. I hope you enjoy the variety!

One Question Survey–Help Me Choose the Title for my Next Book!

Laurel Osterkamp · January 13, 2023

Thanks in advance for helping me choose a title for my latest novel, which is still a work in progress. (The images above were just me taking a break and having fun.) Scroll down to read a brief pitch and choose a title!

Rylee Lynch longs to leave Bemidji, MN and become a successful author, but family illness, the residue of a decade-old tragedy, and covid 19 have waylaid her plans. Carson Meyers has been stuck in Bemidji for …

New Year, New Inspiration, Old Sources

Laurel Osterkamp · January 4, 2023

Are you experiencing the winter doldrums, as your New Year’s Resolutions quickly fade from the forefront of your consciousness? You’re not alone. Yet as writers, we must constantly discover new ways to hone our craft. But how? One approach is to find new inspiration from old sources. Challenge yourself with exercises or prompts that may only yield a learning experience, as opposed to a shiny new novel. The shiny new novel will come later. This …

All About Anna Karenina: Part 1, chapters 22 & 23–The Ballroom Scene

Laurel Osterkamp · December 15, 2022

Although I am still only posting about part one of Anna Karenina, reading-wise, I am well into part three. And I can tell you, I still dislike Levin. Vronsky and Anna are okay, but my favorite character by far is Kitty. I find it so interesting the scene where Vronsky and Anna fall in love is mostly seen through her eyes. After adapting it into first person, I got a really good sense of who Kitty is, and she's awesome. But don't take my word for …

All About Anna Karenina: part 1, chapters 16-19

Laurel Osterkamp · December 1, 2022

I'm reading Anna Karenina so you don't have to.

And the story continues, like a slow moving train groaning down the tracks...

Chapter 16

We get a peek inside Vronsky’s mind. He had an absentee father and his mother was “a brilliant society woman, who had had during her married life, and still more afterwards, many love affairs notorious in the whole fashionable world.” In other words, Vronsky’s had no model of a stable …

All About Anna Karenina: part 1, chapters 10-15

Laurel Osterkamp · November 29, 2022

I'm reading Anna Karenina so you don't have to.

When I told my husband I'd started reading the novel, he said, "Did you lose a bet?" No...but I'm hoping I haven't bitten off more than I can chew. Right now, I'm all about Anna Karenina, and here is my summary/analysis/modern interpretation of part 1, chapters 10-15.

Chapter 10

Levin and Stiva go out for dinner and Stiva gets all fancy, ordering champagne and …